An anastomosis is a surgical connection between two tubular tissue structures, such as blood vessels or intestines. For example, when a portion of an intestine is resected, the resulting two ends can be sewn or stapled together (anastomosed), using an intestinal anastornosis procedure. This procedure can restore intestinal continuity after the resection of a bowel portion, or to bypass a portion of unresectable diseased bowel.
Portions of bowel may be resected for various reasons including, but not limited to: bowel gangrene due to vascular compromise caused by mesenteric vascular disease, prolonged intestinal obstruction, intussusceptions, malignancy conditions, benign conditions (e.g., intestinal polyps, intussusception, roundworm infestation with intestinal obstruction), infections (e.g., tuberculosis complicated with stricture or perforation), traumatic perforations, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease. Bypass of unresectable diseased bowel may be needed in situations including, but not limited to: locally advanced tumors causing luminal obstruction, metastatic disease causing intestinal obstruction, poor general condition or condition that prevents major resection, and various pediatric conditions.
A circulatory anastomosis is a connection (an anastomosis) between two blood vessels, such as between arteries (arterio-arterial anastomosis), between veins (veno-venous anastomosis), or between an artery and a vein (arterio-venous anastomosis).
Anastomoses can be created in various manners including, but not limited to: end-to-end, end-to-side, and side-to-side anastomoses. Often, suturing is used to create such anastomoses.